My new best friend is a salad dressing. Or how to torture yourself on Sunday morning part 2.

Please pardon the sorry excuse for a food picture, but this is one delicious pasta salad. Thank you, thank you Sandwich King. In addition to the grilled veggie sandwich that I made yesterday for lunch, he put together a spring pasta salad in this weekend's episode. Obviously, you use what's on hand if you don't have yellow roasted peppers in a jar or shallots. (Actually, I did have a shallot, I just forgot to put it in the salad.) And if you'd rather use agave nectar instead of honey, go for it.

Spring Pasta Salad (makes about 10 cups)

8 oz brown rice spirals, cooked, rinsed in COLD water, and drained
1 bag of frozen peas, thawed
1 bunch of asparagus, blanched and thinly sliced
1 bunch of snow peas, blanched and sliced ( used a big handful)
1/4 cup roasted red pepper (in water), diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 jar artichoke heart quarters (in water), drained
1/2 cup dressing (see below)
salt to taste

Mix together in a large bowl, add dressing and gently toss to coat.

Lemon Mustard Dressing (aka my new best friend)

1 t dijon mustard
1 T agave syrup
1 large clove of garlic, grated
zest of one large lemon
juice of one large lemon
1 T fresh dill, finely minced
1/2 cup olive oil (the oil should be about the same volume as the other ingredients)

Place all ingredients in a small jar, cover, and shake.

This is such a lovely dressing. I am lucky that I have a dill plant that hasn't bolted up at the community garden. It really goes well with lemon and garlic. Our assignment for Weight Watchers this week is to try a new vegetable. I picked up a big bunch of broccoli rabe at Sprouts after the meeting on Sunday. I am thinking I will blanch it and dress it with this salad dressing. To paraphrase Dr Seuss, Oh The Places We'll Go...